Renowned artist Makoto Fujimura to visit Geneva

Nationally recognized Christian artist, writer, and speaker Makoto Fujimura will visit Geneva College on Wednesday, November 20. At 7:30 p.m., he will present a lecture in Skye Lounge of the Student Center as part of the Geneva Visiting Artist & Lecture Series (GVALS).

Fujimura′s artworks, painted in a style that fuses fine art with abstract expressionism, are exhibited in galleries across the world, from Tokyo′s Sato Museum in to Vienna′s Belvedere Museum to New York′s Dillion Gallery.

Dr. Keith Martel, professor of humanities and higher education, says "Fujimura is a world-renowned abstract artist who doesn't just think Christianly, but creates from a deeply Christian perspective and affection with every word, brush stroke and dash of gold."

Fujimura's art and essays have been featured in Geneva's humanities classes. "Through his work we first see an example of how a person of faith works out of their deeply rooted convictions," adds Martel. "He grants us a framework for considering our response to the trying events of the recent past by embracing beauty and grace while acknowledging solemn sacrifice."

"A popular speaker, he has lectured at numerous conferences, universities and museums, including the Aspen Institute, Yale and Princeton Universities, Sato Museum and the Phoenix Art Museum," Fujimura′s official website′s bio page states. Among his many other accomplishments, Fujimura founded the International Arts Movement in 1992, and is one of the first artists to "paint live on stage at New York City′s legendary Carnegie Hall as part of an ongoing collaboration with composer and percussionist Susie Ibarra."

Many of Fujimura′s works reflect his Christian worldview. One of his most well-known works, The Four Holy Gospels, is a printing of the four canonical Gospels, commissioned in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible in 1611, which Fujimura illustrated.

"In taking on this project," Fujimura says on his website, "it is my bold and ambitious prayer that this new century will see a revisitation of the illuminated legacy, with the Bible as a source of creative inspiration and artistic expression, in both the East and the West."

Fujimura's lecture is free and open to the public.

Geneva College invites students to accept the challenge of an academically excellent, Christ-centered education. Offering nearly 40 undergraduate majors, Adult Degree Programs with fully online and campus-based options, and seven graduate degrees, Geneva has programs that place students at the forefront of higher learning. Adhering to the inerrancy of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God′s word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today′s world.